Alternate taxing structure in Barbados to offset $300m loss

• A new revenue protection framework is expected to go before Cabinet shortly, designed to counter a projected loss of some $300 million in fossil fuel vehicle taxes as the Government drives towards its goal of near 100% renewable energy usage by 2030. 
• Minister of Energy, Small Business and Entrepreneurship Kerri Symmonds also disclosed that his technical officers are working with the Barbados National Oil Company Limited (BNOCL) to devise strategies for switching mechanisms for the commercial introduction and supply of biofuels, an initiative he said, which provides for future investment and economic growth. 
• “We are equally conscious that the replacement of the nation’s fleet of internal combustion vehicles, will cause the Inland Revenue Department to potentially face a loss of $300 million estimated in terms of fuel-related taxes,” Minister Symmonds told delegates at the official opening of the second Barbados Sustainable Energy Conference and Expo 2021 on Monday. 
• He revealed that the studies on alternative taxation mechanisms, which could be deployed in order to compensate for the potential and possible revenue losses that might result from the “broad-based introduction” of renewable energy vehicles in Barbados, have been completed.

 

(Source: Barbados Today)